The Aeon T3 Heavy Assault Bot, nicknamed the Harbinger, is an Aeon unit. This is a direct fire unit.

Like the Cybran's Mantis, the Harbinger possesses an engineering suite, allowing it to assist construction and repair allied units. A large group of Harbingers can increase the build rate of any structure or unit substantially. But unlike the Mantis, it can also be ordered to reclaim. Giving it a patrol order won't cause the unit to use its reclaim capability.

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With the release of Forged Alliance, the Harbinger was replaced with the new Harbinger Mark IV. This unit is about twice as powerful as the old model, and features a shield. The unit's high mobility, coupled with its regenerative shield make it perfect for harassing, for quick in and out strikes, or to place continued pressure on the front lines.

The Harbinger is usually considered a very good unit, useful in all situations, and most Aeon players will very often forgo tech 2 land entirely, to deploy these units as fast as possible. This strategy is called T2 Skip.

The harbinger comes equipped with an engineering suite, meaning it can assist construction, and repair and reclaim units. Because the Harbinger is a high end unit, with pitiful construction speeds, it is usually a very bad idea to use it to assist anything, as the construction time gains are usually not worth in game attention you will have to provide. However, they are quite good at reclaiming, as they are both effective, and will take a beating if you are reclaiming in the middle of a battlefield. Keep in mind this unit will never use its engineering suite by itself, even while on patrol. Use the repair capability to heal your Harbingers if no engineers are available. If you're in battle, you can make a Harbinger last longer by repairing it, or you could set up a ring of Harbingers healing themselves to act as a damage sponge/'Tank' while artillery or other units provide direct damage.

As with the other shielded Assault Bot, the UEF Titan, the Harbinger becomes much more effective when combined with the T2 Mobile Shield Generator Asylum. Also, the Harbinger now has a weapon that outputs approximately twice the DPS of the other faction's assault bots. Thus, it is highly useful as a raiding party (in numbers of about 5 per group) and can deal heavy damage, especially when the opponent is not at tech 3 yet. Also, like the Titan, you can use the Shield for an easier time with Hit and Run attacks, as the shield regenerates without any input from the player.

Due to the Seraphim T3 Siege Tank and its accompanying Seraphim T3 Shield Generator, Aeon forces will be at a disadvantage when entering direct combat, lacking the health, dps, and T3 shielding of their seraphim counterparts. Counter this by either utilizing the speed and personal shielding of the Harbringer, utilizing sniper bots/ T3 mobile artillery, or air support from the T3 ant-air gunship[but don't bother if they have T2 flak artillery mixed in]. Again, reclaim after each battle/

Like most Aeon units, it has a main body of black machinery lined with white lights, with patches of armour scattered around its body. It has four legs with three joints each. Atop the leg module is a "neck" holding the "head" in place.

Unlike the UEF Titan, the Harbinger's shield is not a personal shield per se. It is a standard shield generator who's radius is so small (radius 2.5), only the Harbinger is protected, and sometimes a T1 scout.

The Harbinger fires its primary weapon.Notice the lack of a personal shield, present only on the Harbinger Mark IV.

The Harbinger Mark IV available in Forged Alliance sports a personal shield bubble that only immediately surrounds the single unit (unlike the Harbinger of the original Supreme Commander that has no shield and different stats).